Exalted Progeny
by Rhaza3517
Summary: The two most revered deities in the history of Krypton: Rao and Cythonna. The Wars of Ice and Fire fought between them were legend, and yet, in all their battles, something unknown would draw the two deities back to one another eons later. A compromise would be formed, and a new legacy brought into being... the Ascended Kryptonian progeny of the two ancient primordial gods...
1. Chapter 1

Rao: the Primordial Elder Deity of Krypton, the cosmic manifestation of Krypton's red sun, and the Kryptonian's celestial patron. Cythonna: the legendary Primordial Elder Goddess of Ice, Darkness, and the Void, powerful beyond reckoning, and one that not even Rao himself could completely banish from the universe. The first time they fought, the battles between Rao and Cythonna came to be called the Wars of Ice and Fire. Eons later, Cythonna escaped from the hidden prison Rao placed her in, and sought vengeance upon the only shred of his legacy that she could still sense in the universe, what with Krypton itself destroyed long ago: the Last Son of Krypton, Kal-El, known to humanity as Superman. Even though Cythonna easily overwhelmed the Man of Steel upon their first meeting, and he himself was fearful of being unable to defeat her, Rao's legacy summoned up his courage, executed a daring plan with the surprising aid of Lex Luthor, his arch-enemy for so many years, and against all odds, succeeded in confining Cythonna within the confines of Earth's yellow sun, Rao's link to his legacy and the near-inexhaustible source of power great enough to empower Kal-El to victory over the ice goddess.

With the ice goddess confined once more within the very symbol of Rao's might, Kal-El sadly left Cythonna to her fate, even after offering to save her from being trapped once again if she foreswore her vengeance against Krypton for all time. Cythonna, of course refused, and Kal-El departed back to Earth, slightly disheartened that yet another piece of his history was lost to him due to arrogance and hate. However, the son of Jor-El had no way of knowing that his eternal patron had indeed been watching over him during the battle, and had chosen to act upon the one thing that he knew Cythonna wanted far more than even vengeance upon him: children. Per her station, Cythonna could only birth wild monsters with no conscience, and had sought Rao in the past to add his immense power to that same offspring. Rao's light did not fail him in seeing Cythonna's true wish, and rejected her, thus beginning the Wars of Ice and Fire in the first place. Now, though, the elder deity could see something had profoundly changed in the ice goddess as she languished deep within her solar prison. She no longer wished to have those same offspring to promote herself in the universe; she truly now wanted to be the very thing any child wished from their sires: to have a mother and a father, so that they could have a family.

Rao could see that change beginning to occur in Cythonna, and although he knew he could not bring back any semblance of the Kryptonian race due to his own foolish actions in their passing from the universe, he also knew that between them, they could bring to life a new version of such progeny, blessed in their existence and strong in their conviction to do the most good with the gifts bestowed upon them by their parents. With that in mind, Rao prepared himself for the first true correspondence between him and Cythonna in millennia that did not begin with a titanic energy blast capable of destroying planets, or with a quantum singularity powerful enough to rupture the time-space continuum...


	2. Chapter 2

Just so you all know, I do not own anything of the DC Universe or any of the games I intend to use as I write this story, such as Metroid, Guilty Gear, etc. Just happened to have a little epiphany recently, and went with it. Hope you all enjoy the ride with me.

XXXXXX

Exalted Progeny

One

The Agreement

XXXXXX

 _Space, somewhere just within the orbit of the Sun, Sol System….._

Very few people would have truly comprehended what had taken place within the massive corona of the mighty yellow star that comprised the heart of the Sol system a few short weeks past, the same great solar furnace guarding the blue-green gem tucked into its third orbit that housed humanity. Though, to be fair, if most of humanity had been aware that their noble and staunch champion - Superman, aka Kal-El, the Last Son of Krypton, the Man of Steel, and the Man of Tomorrow - had been locked in fierce mortal combat with a primordial goddess hell-bent on ending his existence and ending any legacy left behind from the destruction of his home planet, they would have called each other insane. Still, that was exactly what had happened. Superman had been fighting against a being so powerful, so vicious in her hatred of all things Kryptonian, that she batted him aside without a care in the universe without even trying. Cythonna, Elder Goddess of Ice and the Void, had come to end the legacy of Krypton with a vengeance.

Long ago before Krypton had been formed or begun to flourish and find its niche in the universe, and far longer than even Earth had existed, its patron deity, the all-powerful Rao, celestial manifestation of the planet's red sun and their Creator God of origin, had come upon and encountered Cythonna in his travels throughout the universe. Although her ethereal beauty was superb, Rao's all-knowing light saw past her beauty, and beheld her true intentions bare to his eyes. All Cythonna wanted to do was to add Rao's immense cosmic might to her offspring, not a good plan seeing as being the goddess of the Void, Cythonna could not bear normal children… only vicious monsters that sought to bring forth only destruction in their wake. Rao refused Cythonna's advances, and soon after that, the spurned goddess and the Kryptonian god of the sun went to war, forging their initial legacy in the Wars of Ice and Fire.

It is quite true when they say that no one can hear you in space. Of course, there is no air in space for sound waves to travel through, so it would stand to reason of that fact. Even more prominent, though, is that without special protection for one's vision, you could easily be blinded for life due to the intensity of the sun's light being projected in all directions from the powerful star, and not having a planet's atmosphere to dissipate it. Any other being who would have witnessed Rao and Cythonna in battle, throwing around their combined cosmic might back and forth, would have simply ceased to exist. Although Rao defeated Cythonna at long last, even with his immense power, he could not completely destroy nor banish her from the universe in the end. And so, after several eons of confinement and the destruction of Krypton, Cythonna emerged from her prison, and without no one to oppose her again, she sought vengeance upon the Last Son of Krypton. Without Rao's interference to stop her, Kal-El quickly found out that beating Cythonna was virtually impossible on his own.

Even with the growing fear that he would fail and fall in battle against Cythonna, the son of Jor-El reached deep within himself for his courage, and rose once more to challenge the vengeful goddess. The unforeseen aid in the form of a deadly Kryptonite grenade from none other than Lex Luthor, though, who had been spurned by Cythonna without a second thought, would prove a great boon when Kal-El successfully lured Cythonna into the corona of the sun that fueled his powers, allowing him to access the full measure of his potential, and letting him stand at a near-equal footing with Cythonna before the goddess invoked her true cosmic form to battle him. In the end, with the sun strengthening Kal-El, weakening Cythonna, and the Kryptonite grenade's radiation rapidly draining her strength even further, Kal-El stood victorious over her at last.

Superman remained true to who and what he was, however, and even freely offered to rescue Cythonna from the sun's confines, with the only caveat being that she had to forever abandon her quest for vengeance upon him and Krypton's legacy by leaving Earth, the solar system, and the galaxy for all time. In true Kryptonian fashion, he asked her to bind this vow as a goddess of Krypton, and by the "burning nimbus of Rao." Despite all this, even seeing for herself how humble the Last Son of Krypton was, Cythonna turned her back on him and refused his offer, leaving a saddened Superman completely resolved to leaving the beaten goddess entombed within the sun. Even as he soared out of the sun's empowering embrace and headed back to Earth, Superman closed his eyes and silently prayed to his eternal patron, asking him to grant mercy and understanding toward Cythonna, for she had now been imprisoned for a second time. Little did the son of Jor-El realize that in doing so, he would lay the foundation for the creation and birth of a new legacy for those blessed by the benevolence of Rao.

XXXXXX

 _Sol System, somewhere just beyond the reach of the Sun_ _'s chromosphere_ _….._

He waited.

Time had no bearing on him. Perks of being a primordial elder deity.

Still, He waited.

Unable to intervene in the titanic clash, but full of faith in his greatest champion, the Last Son of Krypton.

At times, He frowned, hoping for a better outcome than what came to pass. Other times, He grinned, pleased in seeing just how worthy the Man of Steel was of the House of El, and of Krypton itself.

Finally, He was greatly rewarded in seeing his legacy showing mercy to the one he could not destroy, choosing to imprison her again in defeat rather than attempting to destroy her. And in that instance, when for the first time in eons He saw anyone show mercy to the merciless goddess of the Void itself, He saw the change in her at long last. Cythonna finally understood what her divine presence meant to the universe after so long. She was not meant to be the conqueror of the universe; she was simply destined, as He was, to be a powerful cog in the wheel of time and eternity. Now, with the change moving forward in Cythonna, the patient deity floated closer to the surface of the sun, and began his proposition to her.

" _Can you hear me, Goddess of Ice?"_ Rao gently intoned out into the void of space, knowing only another deity like himself - and of Krypton's bearing - would understand the blessed words he was speaking at that moment. _"It has been untold eons since we last spoke to one another, Goddess of the Void, and to our shame, those words were not kind."_ {A/N-1} The response Rao received was one he easily expected.

" _What do YOU want, accursed creator of this fireball that imprisons me yet again!? Come to gloat that your thrice-damned champion left_ _ **me**_ _here!?"_ Cythonna growled out at Rao, despite the fact that the Kryptonian deity could easily tell that the sun was indeed holding a vast amount of her power at bay. Still, Rao could also tell that Cythonna was exhausted, both from fighting and losing to Kal-El, and by using her remaining powers to simply remain intact within the sun's layers. As weakened as she was, her eternal essence was so strong that she would easily stay alive for eons more to come. Rao shook his head at her words, then gently answered back.

" _I have never gloated in anything concerning you, Lady Cythonna."_ Rao replied, granting the goddess the measure of respect that she had not heard of since the Wars of Ice and Fire that the two of them became revered and feared for. _"We are both parts of this universe, as the humans on that small world say… 'two sides of the same coin?' The universe needs us both to function, Goddess of Ice, not at each others' throats because one of us decided not to give the other what they wanted."_ Rao sighed at those words, his presence echoing out across the solar winds. _"And you know full well what I mean, Lady Cythonna: my inner light would never have allowed me to join with you then when you sought me out. I could see without a doubt what it was you were looking for then: more power for the dark ones you would have spawned if I did so. That is_ _never_ _what my power was meant for."_ Even though he could not visually see Cythonna from behind the sun's layers, Rao's cosmic vision could easily sense her sitting down, so to speak, crossing her legs in frustration.

" _So fate and the universe has educated me to,_ _Lord_ _Rao."_ Cythonna finally groused back at him, even as Rao sensed her running her hands and fingers through her snow-white hair that stretched far beyond her legs and arms. _"So, the question stands: what are you doing here now? Checking in on the one whom you cannot aid, due to your own actions in dooming the very people you created?"_ Rao mentally grimaced as Cythonna spoke, despite the fact that he had come to terms with being a partial component in Krypton's destruction due to his own arrogance, and the loss of the very people he helped create and cultivate to their lofty position amongst the vast number of races across the galaxy. Dismissing his regrets for the time being, Rao resumed the conversation with the imprisoned goddess.

" _Kal-El does not know that I am even here, Lady Cythonna. Until he ascends past the mortal coil of even his mighty Kryptonian shell, I will remain only as an observer to him and the last of my people that he has found and freed from bondage, and a subtle guide to any prayers and questions he so poses to me."_ The eternal elder sun god stated as he looked off in the distance at the planet Kal-El called home for so many years. _"His Fortress of Solitude shall serve him well for all other important situations. As to why I am here, Goddess of Ice, it is simply to bring to you… a gentle proposal, as it were, one that I am sure that the long-past Gods of Dawn would accuse me of being suicidal in at best."_ Rao paused in his words, letting them be heard full well by the imprisoned goddess, whom he sensed actually turned to face in his approximate direction, while raising an ethereal eyebrow at him as well. He then attuned his cosmic senses to a greater degree within the environment around him, as he prepared to continue on once Cythonna had answered his response.

" _And what, pray tell, does this proposal of yours entail, sun god?"_ Cythonna inquired of her visitor, remaining aloof to his words and presence, despite the fact that Rao knew she was listening quite intently. _"Beyond offering to free me, as your legacy did, I don't really see what you have that I could want right now."_ Cythonna then hissed slightly as she again used her own powers over ice and the void to cool her skin and body down. Any other matter of any kind trapped within the layers of the sun would have been vaporized instantly, but to a primordial goddess, it was child's play to remain whole, the polar opposite to even her great powers notwithstanding. Rao nodded at her words, then spoke again.

" _I will not lie to you, Lady Cythonna: for now, you will indeed remain here, confined within the sun of this solar system until such time decisions and situations have been resolved to the complete satisfaction of the cosmos."_ Rao stated firmly to his counterpart, but before she could begin scowling at him, he continued on. _"My proposal is this, Goddess of Ice: you have birthed new beings from yourself into this universe in the past. But tell me: what would you do….. what would you choose to accept if you had the choice of becoming a true mother to your offspring, and not a controlling influence upon their futures?"_ At those carefully chosen words, Rao saw something that not even he thought he would see in all his millions of long centuries in existence: Cythonna was literally gobsmacked! Her jaw hung completely open, her eyes widened to a considerable amount, and her hands hanging limply at her sides as the Goddess of Ice tried to comprehend Rao's proposal to her. Then, somehow, Cythonna recovered her calm and answered him.

" _You… you would offer me….. children of my own!?"_ The Goddess intoned incredulously to Rao, who quickly shook his head.

" _No_ _, Lady Cythonna."_ The sun god replied, lifting up his hand and creating an energy sphere upon his palm, which quickly took up the appearance of one of the most well known Earth symbols that represented the duality of the universe: the Tao. One black curve, one white, connected to each other, and with an opposing colored black or white dot at their ends, floated and gently spun over Rao's hand as he continued on. _"_ _We_ _, Lady Cythonna, would give birth to exalted progeny of our own, but beholden to no one but the ideals we hold strongest, and with their own minds and wills to seek our their true destiny, be it here in this universe, or in another completely different or alternate one far from us."_ Rao smiled as he looked at the shimmering Tao still spinning in his hand. _"The humans of Earth are quite the dichotomy to most, are they not, Goddess of Ice? We have seen this before on Krypton: the destruction mortal beings can bring down upon their own kind and world. Yet, we have also seen the beauty and majesty that they can bring forth to enrich their lives and their culture with, as Krypton once did so long ago. Do you not agree?"_

" _Hmm…."_ Cythonna mused as she pondered Rao's words to her, then gave him what she believed he was looking to hear. _"… these, exalted progeny you speak of… they would be a combination of our cosmic might, correct?"_ Rao nodded. _"They would know both of us as their parents? They would be truly sentient, able to speak and live as a true race of such ascended beings should?"_ Again, Rao nodded. Cythonna then gave him a slight frown in response before continuing on. _"All this I would have had, had you agreed to join with me then, so long ago, yes?"_ Rao then shook his head 'no' in reply. _"Then, what did I not discover within your words, sun god?"_ The Tao above Rao's hand glowed slightly, and it soon shifted to show Cythonna one color overpowering the other, but moving back and forth time and again, until the goddess understood what Rao meant. _"Balance… it all revolves around a true balance between our powers and our wills! Yes?"_ Rao nodded, even smiling at her.

" _For lack of a better term, Lady Cythonna, and I do not say this to be unfeeling…"_ Rao began as he dismissed the Tao from his hand. "… _but the 'spawn' that you brought into being so long ago were truly monstrous to face, as they were all born infused with your intent to subvert, control, or destroy anything in their path, as you were when I and the Gods of Dawn stood before you to make sure that the light of creation was not wiped out."_ Cythonna again frowned at Rao, but nodded in acceptance of his words. _"Now that I have seen with my own eyes, and sensed with my own abilities, that you have finally realized what it means to be a part of this eternal cosmos that we each can shape partially to our goals, but with the full understanding that we do it to further expand and enrich the very consciousness of the living universe around us, I believe that if we do choose now to give of ourselves to birth a new generation, rising from the ashes of what Krypton was so long ago, that they will light whichever path they so choose to follow, fully in balance with who they are, and what they will be able to accomplish in due time."_ Rao finished speaking, then waited for Cythonna to answer him.

" _We… we would have sons?"_ Rao nodded again at Cythonna, whose words had begun to tremble with both apprehension, and of all things, hope for her future. _"True sons, they would all be? And true daughters as well?"_ At that, Rao smiled broadly at her.

" _Noble sons and wise daughters all, Lady Cythonna, with the legacy of Krypton behind every move they make, and a powerful measure of our strengths and power to guide them all as they seek out their place in the universe, wherever that may be."_ Rao answered her, even as he extended his arm and upturned hand in her direction. _"Is that something you would truly wish for, Goddess of Ice? Us, no longer at each others' throat, but working side by side, hand in hand, for the betterment of our offspring? Is it something that you would swear to hold yourself to as a true Goddess of Krypton's legacy, and upon the burning nimbus that flares out in my name? Upon the very lifeblood of the cosmos itself?"_

And thus, did Rao finally throw down the crux of the proposal to Cythonna, the heart of it all: renounce her vengeance, just as Kal-El had asked of her in return for rescuing her from the yellow star's unyielding firestorm, all for the true hope and opportunity that children, worthy and beloved children, would be born from the union of the sun god and the goddess of ice and the void, and they would all shine like beacons of strength and balance to all who wished to see their brilliance. It was finally time for Rao to see if his eternal instincts had been right in what he felt from Cythonna at long last: she was ready to be a part of the natural order, not battering it down and seeking to dominate from all angles. And to this day, even upon the centuries he had spent in solitude and sorrow regarding the destruction of Krypton and its people, Rao's instincts had never been wrong. Then, he received the answer from Cythonna… and again, he smiled broadly.

" _If it is within our combined power…"_ Cythonna shakily started. _"… if there is the slightest chance for us, to give birth to a new and completely unique lineage together, that will enrich the cosmos we share, and truly define our legacies, Lord Rao, then… then, I will swear the vow you have offered. Upon the lifeblood of the cosmos, upon the divine light that you radiate, and upon my very existence as an elder goddess of Krypton, then, … yes. You have my vow, Lord Rao. So you say, so shall it be."_ Rao then allowed his divine might to flow, and within the sphere of absolute cold and void that maintained Cythonna's prison, the tiniest of pinpricks appeared before her: a miniature vortex. Cythonna immediately understood Rao's intent: any offspring of theirs could not be brought up within her prison.

Although for now, Cythonna had agreed to Rao's generous proposal, the whole of the cosmos needed to agree on whether or not to free her in the future. For now, though, the wisdom of the stars themselves had agreed to allow them to proceed. With that, Cythonna closed her eyes, placed one hand over her 'heart,' and the other upon her belly, and then, she began to sing. Rao closed his eyes and listened as Cythonna began to channel her own legacy into her voice, the song empowering those words as she remember the times from the Wars of Ice and Fire, and how she and Rao danced the intricate movements of war and destruction. Then, as she reached the crescendo of the lyrics, seven brilliant white lights appeared underneath her hand, then floated away from her and through the vortex Rao had created for Cythonna to make use of. With its task complete, the vortex vanished, and the elder goddess gingerly sat back on her haunches.

Looking beyond the corona of the sun around her, Cythonna could sense that Rao now held the seven divine lights that had been formed from her essence. Looking at his hand for a moment, then back at her, Rao nodded before he spoke again. _"I have safely retrieved what you have given me, Lady Cythonna. I will take these divine lights with me to this place in particular."_ With that, Rao sent a mental image of a shimmering blue giant star some distance from the solar system, but still well within her sphere of awareness. _"There, with myself as their guard, I will gift them all a piece of my life-force, and then, they will all grow to maturity. When they do so, I will open the link between them and us both, so that they will all learn from us, and embrace wholeheartedly the definition of being our exalted, and beloved, progeny. By my own hand, upon my firestorm that is my being, so I swear this to you, Cythonna. Rao, the Father of All, so decrees."_ Hearing that from her counterpart, the goddess of ice wearily nodded, then laid herself down within her icy domain, but not before Rao heard her whisper to him.

" _Guard them like they are your most valued treasure, Lord Rao, for it is what I would do, if I now could. Then, together, we shall name our children, and their deeds shall ring forever true for all to see."_ Hearing that from her, Rao smiled, nodded, then gathered his power and vanished from Cythonna's sight! Even as he 'traveled' away from the Sol system, Rao's mind was focused and ready for what was to come. ( _When I return, Cythonna, you will just how wondrous the gift of being a parent to your offspring truly is._ ) The sun god mused to no one in particular as his senses reached out and homed in on the blue giant star where the seven divine lights would soon call home for the time being, and where he would watch over them until it was time to reunite them with their mother.

XXXXXX

 _The Sun, Sol system, an undetermined time later….._

Although it may have seemed that Cythonna had slumbered for many eons within the heart of the golden sun she had been confined within, like Rao himself, time truly had no meaning for both of them. And so, in the blink of an eye, due to being in another galaxy and with the natural flow of time-dilation so far from Earth, Rao was gone one instant from the star system that the Last Son of Krypton called home, and then, he was back….. only this time, he was no longer alone. Now, floating around the Kryptonian sun god, basking in the aura that was their patron, were seven humanoid figures, all clothed with varying outfits signifying who they were and what they had chosen as their passion in life. The only things strange about them, though, was that they were all composed of bluish-white light, and one could not tell if they were male or female!

Still, that fact mattered little right now, as it was the reunion with their mother that would be the final catalyst to their full awakening. The unknown amount of time that each of the divine lights had spent germinating within the blue giant star that Rao had taken them to had brought forth their full powers in being both Kryptonian descendants, and those born of the two most revered deities in Krypton's history. Each of them easily would be a force to be reckoned with on their own, but with their innate ability to lead and inspire others to follow them and work with them to fulfill their goals, literally nothing would be impossible for the first generation of Rao and Cythonna's exalted progeny to accomplish. With that ideal firmly in mind, Rao reached out with his divine presence and touched that of the sleeping goddess within the sun's inner corona.

" _Lady Cythonna… it is I, Rao, your partner in our endeavor to bring forth a new generation of exalted beings from our combined power._ "Rao intoned toward the imprisoned goddess just beyond the reach of his touch. " _I have returned, and I have brought our children here to meet their mother for the first time."_ The Kryptonian creator god of the sun waited for a response from the goddess who had agreed to their bargain. He did not have to wait long; a moment later, a groggy, but obviously happy reply answered his words.

" _You… you kept your word….!"_ Cythonna haltingly answered as her own divine senses took in the glowing beings that were the first of the promised exalted progeny that she and Rao had agreed to germinate together. _"Oh, Rao… they are_ _beautiful_ _…!"_ She exclaimed as her own ethereal senses danced over the floating seven entities before her sight, and Rao could only smile in joy at her words. In doing so, in bring joy from creation to one who had sought only to destroy and conquer, made Rao's essence soar, and in doing so, the brilliant nimbus of power around his being and his presence became all the brighter for it. His energies at their greatest, Rao reached out and once more formed the miniature vortex within the prison that held Cythonna, and spoke with pride to his counterpart.

" _Reach out, mighty Goddess of Ice and the Void."_ The deity intoned in fervent tones. _"You need only touch each of them for a moment, and you will see them all take the forms that sleep within them all; you will see your children blossom as never before."_ Hearing the words of Rao, Cythonna did just that: the merest wisp of her energies snaked outward through the vortex, forming an ethereal hand that gently touched either the formless cheek or forehead of each of the seven energy beings within her sight. As soon as her energies returned to her through that same vortex, each of the divine lights burst like miniature supernovas! The very essence within each of them was finally completed: the immense presence of the creator of Krypton itself, merged with the infinite power of his goddess counterpart. Then, as soon as it had begun, the light filling the void vanished from sight, revealing at long last, the faces of the seven, the first generation of Ascended Kryptonians in existence.

One by one in turn, each of the fully defined beings floated forward to just within the influence of the sun's shimmering chromosphere, and took up a kneeling position, looking upon the sun's radiance without pain or injury, and listened for the words of their parents as they calmly addressed each one in turn. The first of them, astonishingly a near-identical persona to the Last Son of Krypton himself, save for the streaks of deep royal blue present in his midnight-black hair, his intense and focused golden glowing eyes, and the royal blue and black bodysuit complete with a billowing deep crimson cape and the proud diamond crest of the House of El upon his chest, listened with calm purpose as Rao and Cythonna pronounced him ready for what was to come, and that he was their firstborn. A confident smile remained upon his face throughout their firm and proud announcement to the universe.

" **Rise and stand before us, First-Among-Equals, firstborn of the prime generation of our exalted progeny."** Rao and Cythonna spoke in unison, the power of their combined voices filling the void that only divine beings could truly understand. **"Let the Multiverse know, from one corner to the other, that from this day forward, you are known as Rhah-El, the** **Divine Avatar of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of El, Scion of the** **Honored Primordial House of Krypton** **, and our firstborn son, born to accomplish great deeds, and to leave a new mark upon the stars that represents Krypton** **'s new legacy."** As soon as the two deities finished speaking, the newly-christened Rhah-El rose to his full height, crossed his arms over his chest, and whispered out five crisp words to the cosmos:

"So let it be known." An instant later, the divine avatar of Rao and Cythonna snapped his arms outward, and let loose with a void-shaking roar of determination and unfettered, raw POWER! As the shock waves of the titanic release of his restrained presence echoed outward, Rhah-El spoke again, in tones that would leave no one mistaken as to who and what he was. "So let it be remembered for all time from this day! I am Krypton's living avatar, and I will honor its legacy with every drop of my precious life-force and the burning corona of my power!" Snapping both his hands out forward, Rhah-El instantly summoned a pair of blue-white shimmering Sunstone crystals before each of his outstretched hands, and immediately imposed his will upon them! Within seconds, the Sunstone crystal before his left hand multiplied over and over again, until it had completed its assigned task: a gleaming Royal Guard-class Warsuit! As for the one before Rhah-El's right hand, it completed a even more impressive task, that which Rhah-El held up before himself for his parents to see.

"In Krypton's name…" Rhah-El spoke, holding the brilliant weapon before him, shaped into a gleaming Japanese daito (1) with a glowing heart of blue-white Sunstone crystal before he continued speaking. "… in honor of my mighty patron, Lord Rao, and my ethereal matron, Lady Cythonna, I dub thee the Honored Sunsword of Rao himself, forever blessed to burn away evil and injustice, and forged to cut down the demons who dare to stand before me and my pursuit of ensuring Krypton's eternal legacy." Then, with but a single thought to his weapon, Rhah-El flexed his presence over the Sunsword, prompting it to instantly transform into the state of a mighty greatsword, one that pulsed and glowed with bluish-white and golden energy streaks (2). Rao and Cythonna looked on as their first son finished his pledge and his trademarks, then waited as he floated backwards to allow the second born of their line to come forth, Rhah-El's first sibling of the other six 'born' after him.

This member of the prime generation was a young woman, whose golden-blonde hair and cool, but intense jade green eyes shimmered as she looked first upon her eternal patron behind her, then forward toward where her mother sat in exile. Then, she listened full well as her divine parents pronounced her before eternity itself. **"Rise and stand before us, Second-Among-Equals, second-born of the prime generation of our exalted progeny, first born daughter of the God of the Sun and the Goddess of the Void."** She rose up to her full height to hear the words of the two deities, and she was smiled as she heard words similar to what she had heard spoken to her older brother. **"Let the Multiverse know, from one corner to the other, that from this day forward, you are known as Jhen-El, First and Most Blessed High Priestess of Lady Cythonna, Goddess of Ice and the Void, born** **of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of El,** **Family to** **the** **Honored Primordial House of Krypton** **, and our firstborn daughter, born to accomplish great deeds, and to leave a new mark upon the stars that represents Krypton** **'s new legacy."** They then looked over toward Rhah-El, who nodded. **"Forever be mindful of your first sister and your siblings, our son. You are the greatest light, and the strongest focus of their devotion to our House."** Rhah-El nodded again at the words, the unspoken words laid before him: ALWAYS.

With her pronouncement at her parents' hands done, Jhen-El copied Rhah-El's own deeds, summoning a pair of Sunstone crystals from nowhere before her outstretched hands, and channeling her will and sheer power into them. Her left hand quickly guided the form and function of a similar, but female-friendly Royal Guard-class Warsuit, while her right hand shaped the Sunstone crystal in her grasp into the length of a mighty war-staff, composed of not only Sunstone crystals, but also Void-hardened black shadow crystals, and topped with a shimmering and spinning orb of light. Then, Jhen-El spoke in slow, calm tones to the entire universe around her, words that reverberated with sheer will. "In Krypton's name…" She spoke, holding the brilliant scepter before herself, her eyes glowing as deep emeralds as she named her trademark. "… in honor of my ethereal matron, Lady Cythonna, and my mighty patron, Lord Rao, I dub thee the Divine Void Scepter of Cythonna, forever blessed to hear and record the words of the Goddess of Ice and the Void, and to always guide the intent of my mystical knowledge and cosmic presence in Krypton's name." Jhen-El then gave her new trademark a simple swing outward, unleashing a powerful force wave that buffeted the area around them, before floating backwards and allowing her remaining siblings to be named and presented to her parents.

With the naming of Krypton's Living Avatar and Cythonna's High Priestess completed, the following five siblings and members of the prime generation were quick to accept their names from their divine parents, but each child remained profoundly unique as the ones who came before them:

\- The third born of the prime generation, Zhar-El, born with deep emerald green eyes, his long chestnut blonde hair held back by a high ponytail, clad in a white and blue streaked combat outfit, accepted his blessing from his parents, then effortlessly created a Royal Guard-class Warsuit like his older brother and sister, but with more of an historical feel to its Kryptonian heritage; the cuirass, arms, helmet, and leggings were all far more stylized than that of his siblings to this point. He then formed his signature weapons, and what a set of weapons they were: first, the Honored Daisho (3) of Rao, a beautifully paired wakizashi and katana set, and second, the Star Arc of the Sun, a string-less, single-handed energy bow weapon fully capable of harnessing the energies from himself or his Warsuit with ease, demonstrating to all that would come to know him that Zhar-El was to be a combat prodigy, master of weapons, and a melee combat savant all rolled into one.

\- The fourth born of the prime generation, Sharr-El, second born daughter of Cythonna and Rao, and likely the most powerful psionic entity each being had ever encountered, short of a true deity. While her Royal Guard-class Warsuit took on the appearance of a form-fitting bodysuit as opposed to the cuirass of Zhar-El or the Commander type Rhah-El chosen to create for themselves, the cyan blue-eyed, crimson red haired psychic's armor maintained a more robed appearance in its design, all the more reason to complement her Sunstone forged and finished trademark artifact: The Honored Sun-Staff of Rao, an amplification tool of unprecedented power and, as with all the other artifact weapons, keyed only to her and her two divine parents, thus signifying her position as Krypton's favored Eye of Knowledge, the title given to the most powerful seer born of Kryptonian heritage.

\- The fifth born of the prime generation, and the firstborn of Cythonna's first set of fraternal twins, Khrae-El, born with keen pale gray eyes and close cropped blue-black hair like his older brother Rhah-El, was shown by his parents to be one of the quickest thinkers and strategists they had ever seen, able to discern not only his own unique energy pattern from his siblings, but from those of his divine parents as well. Blessing him and seeing that he would be the tactical prodigy of the first generation, Rao and Cythonna soon realized that he would be a warrior in the same vein as Rhah-El, but he would strike from the shadows, as evidenced by his ebony black Warsuit and his forged weapons, the Blessed Twin Void Katars of Cythonna. With his twin deadly fighting weapons, and his skills in the trade of assassination, Khrae-El would work from within the shadows, and bring low any evil that sought to hide from the brilliance of his older siblings. Where the light cast shadows for vermin to scurry away from and hide in, the Phantom Guard of Krypton would be waiting for them.

\- The sixth born of the prime generation, and the second born of Cythonna's first set of fraternal twins, Dhrae-El stepped forth, the auburn-haired and blue-gray eyed sister of her assassin twin, easily found her niche in saving lives rather than taking them like Khrae-El, but nonetheless remained capable of defending herself from anyone seeking to do her harm from any position. Taking into account her prodigious talents in medicine and healing, not to mention her mastery of the arts of surgery and medical techniques to heal the sick and treat the wounded, Dhrae-El's Royal Guard-class Warsuit was of the Medico model, and outfitted completely for her to accomplish her tasks, and guarded by her trademark, the Divine Twin Frost Shields of Cythonna, capable of keeping any wounded being in stasis until otherwise directed, and warping away any serious attack upon her that could not be countered by her Warsuit or by her own impressive abilities. Rao and Cythonna quickly surmised that she would indeed be a Kryptonian Healer of impeccable renown.

\- And last, but far from least, blessed by being the seventh child of the prime generation born from Rao and Cythonna - cosmically powerful numbers 1 and 7, respectfully - came forth Tjah-El, a boon for both the deities as the dark brown-haired young man with the reddish-brown eyes that glowed golden like his eldest brother Rhah-El, as he showed himself to be a multi-tiered talent in the areas of Kryptonian technology and quantum mechanical engineering, a savant in the long-lost fields of Kryptonian alchemy, and finally, a warrior acolyte like Zhar-El and Rhah-El, with the blessings and dreams of Rao himself to guide and forge him into a truly worthy member of the prime generation. As his Royal Guard-class Warsuit displayed the characteristics of being able to easily command and control several Kryptonian combat androids, so his forged weapons showed his hands-on approach to the ways of warfare: the Honored Star Vambraces and Greaves of Rao, gauntlets and footwear capable of shattering mountains with the lightest of focus upon their might.

With the prime generation now named, armed with legend-class weaponry born from the heart and history of Krypton itself, and clad in armors created by the willpower and inner strength of each child, Rao and Cythonna smiled upon them and toward each other, for they had both waited a long time for this day. More importantly, they were all there with the two prime deities of Krypton to, at long last, show the universe that although Krypton itself may no longer exists, there were still those who followed its most noble of intentions, and sought to rise to the highest peaks of honor and justice. The first generation of exalted progeny born of Cythonna, Elder Kryptonian Goddess of Ice and the Void, and of Lord Rao, the Elder Kryptonian Creator God of the Sun, were now prepared to fact what was to come of them in all things possible, and the two elder deities both knew that their travels, experiences, and accomplishments would all be glorious to behold.

End

XXXXXX

Well, gang, here you have it: the first set of new OC's that I have created in many, many years since I began writing, and ones whom I intend to have travel around and throughout many different genres and universes, just to see what kind of mischief I can get into! Any and all relevant comments, critiques, and reviews are most welcome! Ciao!

XXXXXX

Author's Notes:

{A/N-1} - speaking in High Kryptonian, the divine language of the Kryptonian pantheon

Gods of Dawn - mentioned in Cythonna's bio on comic vine-dot-com, most likely the servitor gods who existed around Cythonna and Rao in lost Kryptonian mythology, and lost to time around when Cythonna escaped from her prison to pursue her vengeance anew.

Anyone curious about the Warsuits mentioned here need only look at over DC Universe Online for the Iconic Battle Suits, specifically the House of El Warsuit to see where I got the inspiration for them, as well as the Sunstone crystals used to make them.

The armor mentioned for Zhar-El can be found on Deviant Art by simply looking up 'Kryptonian cuirass', as they are pretty much the kind of armor worn by Jor-El in the movie 'Man of Steel,' but with the functions of the House of El Warsuit / DCUO Iconic Battle Suit mentioned previously.

daito - A Japanese straight sword, very similar to the blade form that Ichigo's Zanpakuto blade takes when he first invokes Bankai (like against Byakuya.)

The form of this particular greatsword? Heh heh heh… four words for you all to focus on in your minds: Transformers: Prime. Star Saber. Need I say more? ;)

(3) Daisho - for those of you still not in the know, " daisho " literally means "the long and the short" in Japanese, symbolizing the paired weapons favored and utilized by the samurai for so many years in Japanese history, the katana and the wakizashi.


	3. Chapter 3

Once again, for all your information, I do not own anything of the DC Universe or any of the games or other genres I intend to use as I write this story, such as Metroid, Guilty Gear, the occasional T.V. show, movie, etc. This story has just begun to come together for me, and I want to make sure I get it out right. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I am right now.

XXXXXX

Exalted Progeny

Two

Preparation

XXXXXX

 _Space, one light-year_ _'s distance from the great red giant star Rao, approximately two years before the destruction of Krypton_ _….._

Arrogance. Anger. Callousness. Pride. Regret.

He had felt all of these mortal emotions even since His own hands had laid the foundations for the inevitable fall from grace of the very people He had nurtured and guided for so long in the past, only now to see their hubris and foolishness paving the end to their end. It sickened Him, it saddened Him, and above all else, it made Him realize that even deities are not truly free from making mistakes; they just were far more capable of solving them then mortals.

By His own Will, had events been sent in motion to bring about Krypton's end, and the extinction of its people. Surely, even though He was not solely responsible for it all, Rao, the Kryptonian creator deity and the cosmic manifestation of their great red star, could easily feel the weight of what he had allowed to happen, and how it would effect every Kryptonian done to the very last child of each House of Krypton. Still, Rao knew there had to be something He could do to at least spare something of Krypton's legacy, even if He himself had fore-sworn himself to seeing this through to the end. And then, not even a moment after it all began, - to a deity, of course - the mighty Rao realized how to ensure Krypton's future. ( _The outposts…_ ) The sun god mentally exclaimed to himself.

Krypton had, in its existence, made contact with hundreds, if not thousands of other alien life and species across its section of the stars and beyond before their period of isolationism and solidarity with only themselves had taken effect. In order to accomplish this, of course, they had to establish a network of outer colonies and military outposts to ferry their people to all the diplomatic encounters and negotiation meetings across so many star systems. They still, at the time, possessed a formidable space navy and ground resources currently held in reserve and deep storage within well-hidden Phantom Zone pocket generators that were situated at those very outposts.. Rao knew full well that he could not truly take all of that to make use of now that Krypton's future had been lost to His actions, but something deep within his very essence told that if he planned carefully, and acted with both caution and subterfuge, he would be able to, somehow, bring a semblance of Krypton's once-noble existence back into being.

Rao now had a plan in hand, and quickly thought out a way to complete it. Each of the outposts - numbering well over 700 alone in the nearest star systems to Krypton - were fully equipped with automated manufacturing facilities and top of the line android servitor drones to aid the Kryptonians in their endeavors. Some of them were even close to actual yellow stars in fact, where said Kryptonians would have possessed their latent powers at full strength, and with the efficiency of those very systems, Rao theorized correctly that those seven hundred outposts could easily replicate their entire inventory in less than two years' time.

As the outposts followed their orders and replicated their stock, then the accumulated new inventory from all seven hundred outposts could easily be phase-shifted into a location of Rao's choosing, and kept quite safe from any prying eyes and any greedy hands, not to mention being inactive in the hands of any non-Kryptonian: the ingenuity of having the unique genetic strain of a Kryptonian be the only activation method that allowed the technology to function for them and them alone. Ready to put his plan into action, Rao only needed to reach out with His immense cosmic powers and plant the suggestion of His idea within a decently high-ranked member of the Kryptonian Military Guild; it would take care of itself from that point on.

Two years later, coupled with one immense destructive blast that completely ended a planet's existence, Rao's plan had succeeded, and all of the accumulated vessels, weaponry, technology, science, history, culture, and even the very heart of the Kryptonian arts were archived in the secured location that Rao had prepared to take the inventory to that His plan had created. The final age of Krypton had ended; one day, a new legacy would rise for those who had been born of His people, and this time, they would be far more mindful of their past as they traveled on their way to the future.

XXXXXX

 _Three months after Cythonna and Rao had presented and proudly named the prime generation of their exalted progeny…_

" _Father?"_ The calm-eyed Rhah-El, firstborn of the prime generation and First-Among-Equals amongst his siblings, asked of his eternal patron as he and the others - High Priestess Jhen-El; combat prodigy Zhar-El; psionic powerhouse Sharr-El; master assassin Khrae-El, and his twin sister, Dhrae-El, medical genius par excellence; and Tjah-El, the alchemist mastermind and battle savant - all followed the cosmic energies Rao left in his wake as he led them all toward an unexplored region of the Alpha Centauri star system, only a scant four-plus light-year's distance from the Sol system protected by their mortal cousin, the Last Son of Krypton. _"Is there any particular reason you've brought us out this way? Beyond trying to avoid Tjah's attempts at bad comedy?"_ The siblings all chuckled with their oldest siblings, while the youngest of the group gave a one-eyed glare at the oldest Scion of the reformed House of Krypton.

" _I'll get you later for that, Rhazzie!"_ Tjah-El exclaimed toward his oldest brother, shaking his fist in a challenging, yet hilarious manner that easily told them all that the youngest child of the prime generation was enjoying their company just as much as they were. Even Rao let out a hearty chuckle at their antics. This was what family should always be: kind to one another, but quite able to tell a joke and jest with one another, all to come back together as one unit and be the very thing they would need from each other… loved. Finishing his chuckles, Rao then clapped his hands together to get the undivided attention of his seven first-born children, as they had arrived at their destination. The minor cosmic shock wave quickly affirmed their focus to the reason Rao had them accompany him to this region of space.

" _Rhah-El's and Tjah'El's jousting notwithstanding, my progeny…"_ Rao stated to his children, making sure they were all paying attention to his words, smiling even as Rhah-El grinned and shook his head, while Tjah-El gave his eternal patron a mischievous smile of his own. _"I have brought you all here so that I may give you all your first, and most precious of gifts that I have sequestered away for this very occasion."_ Rao then opened his hands, using his cosmic gifts to bring a Sunstone crystal into being, then quickly brought his will to bear on it, causing the crystal to rapidly alter its form into that of a giant golden crystal key as long as Rao's leg! Rao then lifted up the key, paused for a moment as his eyes pierced through the void before him, and before anyone knew it, Rao thrust the key's head forward!

The massive key slammed perfectly into an invisible lock of some kind! With a loud CLANG!, the key found its mark, and Rao deftly turned it once left, then back to the right in a full circle as the key began to glow brightly in the deity's grasp! Then, Rao withdrew the key, banished it back to whence it came from, and touched two of his fingers to the glowing indentation in the space before him, saying, _"So does Rao, Creator of Krypton and its Solar Deity, come before you now to inspect and distribute the legacy of Krypton. Upon this, I command:_ _open_ _."_ A second later, the glowing indentation fashioned itself into a Sunstone crystal gate, sliding open before them all, and allowing them to enter before Rao followed them, sealing the gate behind them once more so that no entity in existence would follow or bother them during this event.

The seven siblings, having never had the chance to truly see what their eternal patron could create when he put his mind to it up to this point, - Krypton and most of the galaxy that Rao held dominion over hadn't been built in a day, of course - but each one of them could instantly tell that all around them, held in a confined stasis field of planetary strength, was an ultra-thin, but hyper-dense energy layer composed perfectly from the Phantom Zone itself. Rhah-El and Jhen-El kept their observations to themselves, but Tjah-El, being the alchemist savant he was, had already guessed at what and where they were now, and quickly voiced his opinion out loud to them all. _"Father! Did you actually take the time in the past to create a true Dyson Sphere!?"_ The Kryptonian sun god chuckled to himself, marveling at how one of his youngest children was so bright and yet so easy to distract from why they were all here today.

" _That I have, my youngest progeny."_ Rao replied, even as he swept his hand outward, instantly filling the large corridor they were in with gentle illumination, and displaying a massive set of Sunstone-encrusted blast doors just a few hundred meters away. _"And what lies within this great structure, are the gifts I promised you after you had met your mother."_ With that, Rao hovered off the floor, and floated off down the corridor toward the sealed blast doors, his seven children quickly floating after him. Once at the blast doors, Rao laid his hands on each one, then closed his eyes and channeled a massive burst of his cosmic solar energies into the hidden locks built into the doors. A moment later, heavy latches and locks sounded out like ringing heavy bells, and the two massive doors swung open! _"This way, my children…"_ Rao intoned as he led the seven ascended Kryptonians into the chamber within. _"… it is time to show you what I have prepared for you all to inherit from me and Krypton's legacy."_ With those words, light began to quickly fill the entire chamber, and the seven children gasped in surprise!

Tjah-El's earlier observations were proven true: Rao had indeed constructed a massive Dyson Sphere, kept well hidden behind the spatial lock and key he had constructed that only he and an ascended Kryptonian could access. What Tjah-El, and his other siblings, did not realize, though, was just how truly immense the Dyson Sphere was in its entirety. Rhah-El, this time, was the first to comment, his powers quickly showing him in detail what his eternal patron had built, and just how grand the scale of it all was. _"By Father's divine light…!"_ Rhah-El exclaimed, his glowing golden eyes peering out as far as his augmented vision could. _"I can see and sense so many_ _entire_ _worlds in all directions! By my estimates alone, there must be over_ _seven hundred_ _entire planets within this Sphere, all of which are orbiting that massive artificial yellow star that I see in the distance, and all them are likely as large as the Sol's system largest world!"_ Jhen-El then quickly put her own thoughts into words.

" _Father…!"_ She exclaimed as she gripped her treasured Void Scepter in both hands, allowing it to channel and augment her own abilities, and to discern what was all around them. " _I can sense_ _millions_ _of Kryptonian vessels here! I can tell that each of them is filled with proven weapons, alongside reliable and state of the art technologies all from Krypton itself, not to mention so many other areas here that are simply saturated in Sunstone crystal repositories!"_ The second oldest of Rao's children looked at her sire. _"You saved so much of our past!_ _How!?_ _How did you even know that we would have need of all this, when you did not know we would even exist!?"_

At those words of awe and happiness from his eldest daughter, Rao smiled, then motioned his children to sit down around him and listen to his words. Once they were all looking at him, the Kryptonian sun god spoke again. _"You all know full well of my own involvement in how our beloved planet, and the race I once governed over in secret, fell from grace and was sadly taken from this universe. Your mother and I chose not to hide that particular fact from you in any way, shape, or form. However, before that all took place, even with my own foolish vow that I would not stop what I had put into motion, I realized that I could still save a great deal of what Krypton represented, both to him, and to all the Kryptonians upon our lost world. So, around two years before its destruction, I planted a mental suggestion to a high-ranking Kryptonian Military Guild member to send out hyper-encrypted messages to most of the outposts and colonies nearest to our home planet."_ At that proclamation, Sharr-El's psychic gifts flowed outward from her and understood completely what Rao had accomplished, even as the combat prodigy Zhar-El floated up and looked off in the distance before he began speaking to his patron and his siblings, his younger sister's mind already linked to his.

" _Over seven hundred colonies and outposts….."_ The weapons master stated, even as his hands passed over his Honored Daisho of Rao sheathed on his hip, and the gleaming Star Arc energy bow retracted and holstered on his leg. _"… all of them, tasked to create and store replicas of their entire military inventory, databases, and intelligence sources, all in preparation for the day we would one day come here, to make use of it, and to allow the new Houses of Krypton to rise up and flourish among the stars."_ Zhar-El and Sharr-El looked back to their patron, then smiled at him and their siblings. _"The universe, and our enemies, will never be ready for what we will bring forth to furnish our futures with."_ The Kryptonian sun god looked at his two middle children, then back over to the remaining five, and nodded in kind before rising to his feet once more.

" _Channel your essences through your trademarks, my children."_ Rao said, his nimbus burning with pride and acceptance. _"They will lead you to where you will be most effective within these walls of Krypton's legacy, and take all the time you need. When you are ready, then and only then, shall I open the gates once more and allow you all to travel upon the paths that already await each and every one of you. Now, my children, my divine progeny…._ _ **fly.**_ _"_ The seven ascended Kryptonians quickly followed their patron's instructions, and like lightning bolts across the evening sky, each one of them flew off into the distance, following the hum of their forged weapons toward their waiting niche within the Dyson Sphere. Rao watched them all fly away from him, then reached outward and touched the resting mind of Cythonna within the golden sun of the Sol system. _("It is done, Lady Cythonna. The night-wings and the flame-birds have all finally left our nest, and now, we shall see the honor and hopes of Krypton's legacy take shape before our very eyes.")_ The frosty, but calm presence of the Kryptonian ice goddess touched Rao's psychic presence, and answered him.

" _This is_ _wonderful_ _news, Rao."_ Cythonna exclaimed as Rao allowed her to see his memories of their arrival within the hidden Dyson Sphere, his words to them all, and the eventual flight of all seven from his presence as they sought the section of the Sphere that called to them through their weapons and hearts. _"Do you have any thoughts on who will be the first one to journey the farthest from the shores of our small part of the Multiverse?"_ The sun god pondered this, while letting his divine presence hum through their psychic link before he finally answered her, and that answered surprised them both.

" _I am quite certain that Zhar-El will be the first to step beyond the confines of this realm and into the next, Lady Cythonna."_ Rao stated, even as his cosmic mind's eye watched with great interest as Zhar-El came upon his section of the Sphere, looked over all that he was to inherit this day, and smiled to himself. _"As the weapons master he is, our third-born will seek out challenges to further improve his skill, as well as draw in like-minded individuals to him, while being a guiding light to those who have fallen and can still hope to be redeemed from the darkness."_

Cythonna pondered Rao's words of encouragement concerning her second-born son, then asked him, _"Where do you believe he will travel to? Surely there must be something here, within the confines of this realm of existence, that will interest him."_ Rao nodded at those words from the ice goddess, but then answered them with cryptic words of his own as he looked off into the distance, taking note of how Rhah-El and Jhen-El were conversing about different ways to both improve and streamline the various types and designs of the numerous Kryptonian vessels all around them in their particular sectors, not to mention how Tjah-El was employing liberal uses of his super-speed to fly back and forth between each of his siblings so they could all utilize the full breadth of his technological affinity and mechanical intellect.

" _This realm may indeed interest a normal Kryptonian, Goddess of Ice, but the will and strength of an ascended Kryptonian will crave far more than that."_ Rao said as he watched both Rhah-El and Jhen-El beginning the process of communing and attuning their particular sectors of the massive Sphere with their weapons and exalted life-force, then looked back at Zhar-El and smiled as the third born of the prime generation began to do the same, but with a very noticeable variation upon the Kryptonian resources now under his command. _"As I can already see, Zhar-El seeks to fully utilize the creative inspirations born from humanity's dreams and storytelling to make his own fleet and the strength behind it his own. Watch closely, Cythonna, and marvel with me as our children take their first true steps in performing their own class of_ _wonders._ _"_ The intrigued Goddess of Ice did just that, looking through Rao's eyes once more as the combat prodigy and second son they shared began to imprint his essence and command upon the resources now at his disposal.

Even though the exalted progeny of Rao and Cythonna had only been free of the confines of the giant blue star that had aided and finalized their individual germination for those short three months, they had devoured knowledge from their lost home world that had been taught to them all by Rao in droves, while absorbing the considerable information and culture of the blue-green gem that their mortal cousin Kal-El had lived on for virtually all his life. Zhar-El, in particular, had been quickly drawn to the space operas depicted by the North American continent's locale called Hollywood. Although he noted that their own methods of space travel were all still woefully far behind that of other alien races, including the Kryptonians, their imagination allowed them to dream up such fantastic ideas and lofty goals that the third-born ascended Kryptonian could not help but be drawn to them, knowing that he had found the niche he wished to utilize so that he could easily disguise the true history and strength of the many vessels and cruisers that would make up his own personal intergalactic naval fleet under his command. Already, Zhar-El's keen eye for detail, form, and function had selected one film in particular, one that despite some unkind reviews and low financial returns, had touched something deep within Rao's confirmed combat prodigy, and he grasped it firmly with both hands.

Even though his third-born offspring was easily over several thousand miles away from his physical presence, Rao had no trouble 'seeing' over Zhar-El's shoulder as the master combatant rubbed his chin while watching a holographic screen hovering over his left arm's gauntlet, being projected from his Warsuit's integrated servitor A.I. In the upper corner of the screen, Rao could see the highlighted title of what Zhar-El was watching: a cinematic galactic opera with the very imposing title, "Jupiter Ascending." The Kryptonian deity quickly noticed what drew Zhar-El to the film in question: the types of ships, technology, weapons, the film's very premise, and not at all in the least, the numerous battles and conflicts the movie revealed to its viewers. Rao knew full well that Zhar-El was in his element without a doubt, and he grinned widely in anticipation while Zhar-El watched the multitude of Kryptonian construction droids shape and program the Sunstone crystal-derived Kryptonian technology into the depicted forms of the battle cruisers, one-man assault armors, and trans-atmospheric capable fighter craft that he no doubt wanted to be at the controls of as soon as possible. Then, Rao noticed a second screen beneath the one before Zhar-El's first one, and the deity raised an eyebrow in approval.

( _'Amazing…'_ ) The Kryptonian deity pondered to himself. ( _'Of all my children, I suspected that both Rhah-El and Jhen-El would be the first ones to truly open themselves up to the opportunity of traversing from this universe into any one of the other possible alternate dimensions or parallel universes that they can enter from this reinforced nexus point. To see that Rhah-El and Zhar-El are to be those two first instead, while Jhen-El establishes herself as High Priestess of Cythonna and my eventual Voice that will be called upon to guide them when they are not with either myself or their mother, is truly inspiring to witness.'_ ) Rao could easily hear Cythonna's muffled chuckles in the back of his mind, and he simply smiled back to her while he watched Zhar-El's second screen that was displaying an armored warrior of great renown destroying monsters and heartless pirates with superior tactics, proven weaponry, and a bravery that rivaled the past warriors of Krypton's ancient Houses.

Then, surprisingly, Rao saw that through an predicted turn of events, a shadowy version of that same warrior was born from their very DNA, weapons, and some of the remains from the creatures that they had destroyed. The original and the doppelganger went on to battle several different times, up until their final confrontation where the original finally dispatched the dark entity for good. Rao instantly understood what his third-born offspring was about to do, and his grin and approval for it grew by leaps and bounds. ( _'Do you understand just what Zhar plans to do here, Lady Cythonna?'_ ) Rao questioned back to the ice goddess. ( _'Once his flagship and all of its automated staff, resources, and combat craft are ready to set sail, our combat prodigy intends to travel to that particular realm of existence, collect the remains of that defeated doppelganger and all of its impressive abilities, and then, he will reform and redeem it into the service of his fleet and his command! Genius, my boy! He already understands just how strong his inner light is, and just how he can use it to turn possible enemies into confirmed allies!'_ ) Cythonna could only marvel at Zhar-El's intentions as she fully comprehended what her offspring were capable of in this particular area.

( _'They will be completely able to seek out and turn other beings into allies that would have been enemies in another lifetime, and make themselves all the stronger for it!'_ ) Cythonna responded to Rao's words as Zhar-El looked over the completed retrofitting of a Kryptonian combat craft into the form of one of the rapid assault fighter sloops, then marveled at how a military-grade Kryptonian full assault armor had been transformed into the much sleeker and maneuverable assault armor type from the cinematic opera he had been watching. Then, the combat prodigy looked up, and mentally calculated just how long it would take before his flagship would be fully ready for transport and travel to his chosen location. ( _'I foresee that both Rhah-El and Zhar-El will only be the first of our prime generation to truly make their presence felt elsewhere in the fabric of the Multiverse, Lord Rao.'_ ) The Kryptonian deity simply nodded in full agreement with his counterpart.

( _'And our other children will all follow in their footsteps.'_ ) Rao firmly stated to the stars in the skies within the Dyson Sphere around him and his children. ( _'Of that, there is no doubt. So let the enemies that await them all beware: the exalted progeny of Rao and Cythonna will ascend before our very eyes, and no evil or corruption shall stand before their glory.'_ ) Rao then locked his arms behind his back, resuming his watch over his first three ascended children, and marveling at just how fast and efficient they were in preparing each of their own fleets, while aiding each and every one of their younger sibling in the same vein. ( _'They do not yet realize just how much each of them emulates so much of both Cythonna and I.'_ ) Rao remarked silently. ( _'Young godlings they may be, but woe to any who underestimates their conviction and power, especially those fools who think they are capable of wooing any daughters of Cythonna with false platitudes and surviving their righteous fury.'_ ) After thinking about that, Rao quietly smirked. ( _'I do wonder if I will be called upon to witness any well-deserved whippings that my daughters will dish out to any stupid would-be suitors? I should likely sell tickets for such an event.'_ ) The sun god chuckled at that morbid, but very true observation.

XXXXXX

 _A short time later…_

Rao, Jhen-El, Sharr-El, and Dhrae-El all watched high in the skies above the launching station they were situated in as Rhah-El, Khrae-El, and Zhar-El all participated in a series of lightning-fast war games using the vehicles that Zhar-El had begun altered the majority of his Kryptonian fleet into, while Tjah-El remained on the ground as an impartial judge and observer as to how well the machines handled and maneuvered in flight and in battle. Rhah and Khrae had chosen to utilize the 'Wraith' swift attack fighter craft, and were literally dancing around any and all attempts by their automated drones and simulated enemy fighters to down them. Zhar, however, had been far more ambitious, and took one of the imposing 'Zero' assault mecha into the mock combat against the drones and his two siblings. Even though each of them were only novices, having no true full combat experience, the trio were advancing through individual and unit challenges as if they were no true obstacles to their skills at all. All the while, their sisters, youngest sibling, and their eternal patron watched in awe and unrestrained joy.

" _Incredible…!_ " Jhen-El was the first on the ground to speak up, while Tjah-El chuckled madly like a determined Kryptonian war-hound with a night-wing bone in his jaws. " _… Father, they fly and move as if they weren't even in their vehicles! It is a battle waltz of which I doubt anyone has ever seen in the universe's halls of war!_ " Sharr-El could only shake her head in sad acceptance of her sister's words while muttering to herself about 'insane, battle-obsessed adrenaline junkies' in the same vein as her older brothers' names, while Dhrae-El was quickly issuing orders to her medical troops just in case one of her brothers was actually hurt… not likely, of course, being ascended Kryptonians and each of them clad in their Warsuits that easily doubled as hardened flight suits to boot. Rao, to their mutual shock, though, was laughing out loud in a similar fashion to Tjah-El, his booming laugh echoing across the landing zone. When the Kryptonian deity finally regained a semblance of control, he spoke to his four children near him, his mirth still very present.

" _My dear progeny…_ " Rao said, his chuckles still shaking his shoulders. " _… your brothers in the sky up there are simply behaving as a Kryptonian would when first discovering the true, wondrous joy of being able to fly under their own power. Even though they are using Zhar-El's designed craft in mock combat, the fluidity and agility that they are all displaying leaves no doubt in my mind that they are all having…_ _fun_ _._ " Tjah-El quickly agreed completely with his eternal patron, even as his hands danced across the holographic, tactile energy fields of the scanning equipment before him while following the movements of his three aerial brothers.

" _You better believe it, Father!_ " The alchemist and mechanical prodigy gleefully stated as his eyes followed the aerial banks and climbs that Rhah, Zhar, and Khrae were all pulling off with both style and flair each and every time they engaged either their combat opponents, or each other in brief skirmishes. " _Not to mention, with recording and reviewing all this data now, when Zhar and Rhah head out first from here, they will be so prepared for anything that comes their way that the opposing side will quickly decide to just get out of the way, lest they get run over by either one of them. Bwahahaha! This is fantastic!_ " The joyful alchemist cackled out loud as he kept recording and watching the aerial ballet between his older siblings. Dhrae-El had arched up one eyebrow, carefully observing her younger brother before speaking to her patron.

" _Father…_ " The medical savant slowly said to the Kryptonian deity. " _… is something wrong with Tjah-El that I can't see right now? All my medical knowledge and aptitude never really prepared me to witness something as what is happening to him right now._ " At that unsure statement from his physician daughter, Rao burst out laughing again, then calmed himself down a few moments later to answer her, even as she gave him the exact same unsure look and raised eyebrow that she had directed toward her youngest sibling.

" _No, my dearest medical professional._ " Rao spoke, his hand gently touching Dhrae-El's shoulder as he looked over at his youngest offspring. " _Like your three brothers flying over us right now, Tjah-El is simply in his favorite element: that of scientist and observer. He is enjoying watching his older brothers demonstrate their skills, and reveling in the fact that their practice runs are giving his instruments so much raw data to process and review. That's why he's so giddy right now, as I'm sure his brothers are, too. Let him enjoy it; the others will be more than happy for him when they finally land and give us their thoughts on how everything performed for them during the flight trials._ " Dhrae-El finally nodded at her patron in understanding, and returned to watching the vehicles flying overhead with her older sisters, just in time to hear Jhen-El voice out loud the shared thoughts between her and Sharr-El.

" _Oh, dear sweet Rao…_ " Jhen-El groused, gently tapping her forehead with her own Void Scepter in a chastising rhythm. " _… boys with toys, they all are._ " Rao laughed once more before he hugged his three daughters to his side.

" _Yes, my dear High Priestess…_ " The sun god answered as the vehicles finally finished their war games, and began to turn back toward the launch base to land and report in on what they had all observed and learned from their combat interactions. " _… I know that full well, and I'm all the more happy that they know how to be young and play to their heart's content now, before the full reality of the universe envelops them._ " Jhen-El nodded her head in acceptance of her patron's wise words, as did Sharr-El and Dhrae-El, while Tjah-El continued tracking and recording his elder siblings' actions high in the skies above. Rao smiled at them all once more, then chuckled as the three eldest brothers of the prime generation finally completed their war games scenarios, and turned their vessels around to head back to the launching station to speak with the others and to review what they had learned in combat and the vehicles that they had made use of.

XXXXXX

With precision and grace, the three oldest progeny of Rao and Cythonna brought their chosen battle craft in for well-executed landings, and were quickly attended to by several groups of servitor A.I. built for maintaining and servicing the reformatted vessels. Rao, Jhen-El, Sharr-El, Dhrae-El, and Tjah-El all silently floated over near the landing zone, waiting until the three young celestials had disembarked from their selected ships, then flew over and joined them to hear what each of them thought about the performance of each vessel in kind and the level of skill each brother had displayed in their mock combat. Rao was the first to question his sons on just how much they enjoyed flying the reconstructed ships.

" _Well, my sons?_ " The Kryptonian sun god asked of his three eldest male children. " _How well did the vehicles perform with you all at their helms? And, more importantly, did each of you have as much fun as we did watching you perform all those moves of agility and tactics that only such as yourselves could pull off?_ " As soon as Rao finished speaking, the three brothers took each other in arms, and Rhah-El answered his eternal patron.

" _Father, I speak for both Khrae and Zhar here when I say to both questions…_ " Rhah-El stated to his patron, before his brothers yelled out with him in tandem. "… _YES!_ " At that, Jhen-El let her head drop to her chest, muttering ' I was right' under her breath as Dhrae, Sharr, and Tjah all began laughing out loud with Rao in tow. The Kryptonian sun god motioned his three other sons to join him in their joy, which they did as they began to rapidly speak about just how incredible the chosen vehicles had performed in their control, not to mention that due to being rebuilt and reformatted using up-to-date construction methods derived from Kal-El's majestic Fortress of Solitude and its well-preserved archives of Krypton's past - as well as the enhanced blue-white Sunstone crystal resources that each of the prime generation had been watching over and encouraging to grow with their powers, the vessels were as strong as they each were.

Rao could barely contain his own excitement. With each of his and Cythonna's progeny in full command of such impressive fleets and combat vessels, as well as the legions of support combat and servitor A.I's that had been constructed and formatted with the stored knowledge of the legendary Sapphire Guards of Krypton, the prime generation were more than prepared to make their mark upon the Multiverse. They were all likely to become new governors of justice and balance where they followed their own light from this point on. Rao could not be happier, and he could tell, even from this great distance from the Sol system, that Cythonna was just as proud and ecstatic at what her children would soon accomplish in their own name, and in the honor of both the Creator sun god of Krypton, and the majestic goddess of ice and the void that was his legendary counterpart.

Presently, it was Tjah-El that broke up the revelry between the prime generation and their eternal patron. "Father, beloved siblings, with everything that has been accomplished today, I think we have forgotten a very important item…" When all of his brothers and sisters had turned to look at him, as well as their patron, the youngest progeny of Rao and Cythonna gave them all his infamous mischievous grin. "… who's cooking dinner for us all?" At that, everyone single one of the ascended Kryptonians, bar Tjah-El, and their sire all fell down laughing in earnest, leaving the grinning alchemist savant standing with his hands on his hips. "I win again." He cackled madly to himself, right up until Khrae-El and Zhar-El stood up, their own grins plastered on their faces, and leapt forward, using their super-speed to ensure that Tjah-El's own quickness did not allow him to escape from his satisfaction-seeking older brothers. And with that new round of laughter and playfulness, Rao the Creator sun god knew all was well with his progeny, and that they still remembered to have a little bit of true fun and joy as they set out to live their lives in full.

End Preparation

XXXXXX

Author's Notes:

{A/N-1} - Italics = speaking in High Kryptonian, the divine language of the Kryptonian pantheon

Jupiter Ascending - whether you cared for the movie or not, the cinematic battles, ships, and artistry in the weapons and battles were well enjoyed by yours truly. Eat your hearts out if you have any obtuse comments in that respect. Meh.

Well now my friends, you all have an tiny inkling of what kind of mischief and order that the prime generation of Rao and Cythonna have unleashed upon the Multiverse. Remember, Rao has a vow of minor non-interference in regards to Kal-El, but that does not pertain to his exalted progeny, and as stated above, with his contributions to their new fleets, it is most likely Zhar-El who will travel out into the Multiverse before anyone else, and his first stop is one which I wish I had more knowledge about, but where I plan to go with it, it should still be loads and loads of fun. Comments, insights, and reviews are welcome, while flames will simply be thrown into a blue giant sun. Ciao, hermanos.


End file.
